The swirling black mist transformed into a hideous beast, opening its massive maw and lunging forward.
Xu Xian remained motionless and was swallowed whole.
The dim world turned pitch black; heaven and earth inverted, and the world flipped upside down.
In the world before him, darkness stained the light, bleeding into a deep crimson.
Within Xu Xian's sea of consciousness, thoughts were chaotic and impossible to calm.
Time came to a standstill.
The air became thick and eerie.
Countless black mists passed through his physical body. Whispers echoed in his ears—sometimes dense, sometimes sharp, illusory, seductive, manic, or maddening.
Xu Xian did not try to discern those murmurs, nor did he have the interest to listen or differentiate them.
He held fast to his original heart.
He treated them as if they were nothing.
Amidst the hallucinatory thoughts, he stepped into one illusion after another while remaining perfectly conscious.
In a vibrant, colorful world: golden light, golden clouds, golden mountains...
Deep blue spirit mines,
Emerald immortal plants,
Dharma treasures,
Magical artifacts,
Divine swords,
Spirit elixirs,
Piled up like mountains...
A voice told Xu Xian to take them—take whatever he wanted; they were all his...
Xu Xian smiled.
Was this just standard procedure, or did the version of himself deep inside truly think he was so greedy for wealth?
Was the so-called Heart Demon Tribulation such child's play?
He ignored it, treating money like dirt.
One scene faded, and another arose.
Wine pools and forests of meat, gauze curtains and silk skirts... in a world of misty waters, countless beauties with skin as white as jade appeared.
They had angelic faces, succubus-like eyes, and seductive bodies.
Every inch of them radiated deep temptation.
Pink breaths,
Teasing words,
Making the heart race and the blood boil.
“Brother Xu, I want...”
“My Lord, play with me...”
“Let me serve you well...”
Xu Xian gave a bitter smile and shook his head. With a wave of his hand, he dispelled everything.
Greed.
Lust.
What would be next?
He walked through battlefields of unbridled slaughter and tread through desolate lands where people suffered.
Pity, sorrow...
Xu Xian remained conscious throughout.
His expression never changed.
Until the scene shifted back to a small mountain village, and a shout came from the distance.
“Ah Xian, come home for dinner!”
The youth looked back.
The girl under the tree was in the prime of her youth.
Her smile was so familiar, so unforgettable.
Xu Xian was moved.
Xu Xian hesitated.
He stopped, even though he remained conscious and knew this was all just a Yellow Millet Dream.
But there are always dreams that you know are dreams, yet you are still unwilling to wake up from.
Like this one.
In those bygone years,
The regrets belonging to the youth began to overflow...
He went home.
Just like during his hundred years in the red dust.
Back then, Houdao Village was still just a small hamlet.
There were no straight, wide roads,
No private schools with the sound of children reading,
No shops hawking along the streets...
...
There was only a secluded village, three thatched huts, a small courtyard, an unmarried elder sister, a youth who hadn't left home, parents whose hair hadn't yet turned white,
And the old village chief who was still alive.
His sister called him to dinner,
His mother told him to get married,
His father told him to stop messing around.
The old village chief wanted him to be the new chief...
This was the deepest regret in Xu Xian's heart, surpassing wealth, power, and beauties...
Such is life.
What you cannot obtain is often the most alluring.
This moment was just like that moment.
If he met Li Qingshan again and was asked if he wanted to cultivate immortality,
Following his heart,
Xu Xian would still tell him no.
The reason?
Fear of bitterness, exhaustion, or death...
An excuse is an excuse.
Does a person looking for an excuse care if it is reasonable?
But,
Xu Xian knew this was just a dream.
The only thing he could do
Was to squeeze out a bit of time from what little remained to linger in this dreamland and have a conscious, sound sleep.
I have long regarded the world as a speck of dust, a floating flower in the void, a body within a dream.
Xu Xian thought,
Let me sleep a little longer...
Scenes switched one by one, grand dreams of floating life passing by. A moment in the dream, but time flew outside.
From the Little Book Spirit's perspective, Xu Xian had been in meditation for over a month and had not yet awakened.
His pained expression had returned to calm after the first day; his breathing was slow and steady.
This was good news.
At least,
So far, the master remained conscious and self-aware.
Its mindset changed accordingly.
From the initial tension and anxiety, it had now become indifferent and calm.
The Little Book Spirit didn't deny it had been worried, but as Xu Xian remained in meditation, it slowly calmed down.
Once a person calms down, things become peaceful and simple. Complex matters suddenly become clear.
The same applied to a spirit.
The heart demon is indeed difficult.
Xu Xian is indeed young.
But who is Xu Xian?
He is its master.
At a very young age, he had the courage to smash the sword stele. In the days that followed, he never lacked fearless bravery.
Step by step he had come. While luck played a part, his efforts could not be ignored.
In those early days of cultivation,
Xu Xian had already shown effort far beyond that of ordinary people.
Climbing mountains,
Wading through water,
Three months of body tempering,
Ten months of foundation establishment.
Step by step, he ascended the Divine Sword Pool.
Finally, he hatched the sword embryo.
In all of this, it had never stepped in to help him.
Then came Yecheng, Demon-Slaying City, the Demon Abyss, the Emperor's Tomb...
All the way to accepting the sacrifice of the five people and challenging the world,
And then three hundred years in the red dust...
Throughout the entire process, he had only used external help twice to resolve a crisis. Once was at the foundation establishment stage against the remains of an ancient beast god, and once was when his cultivation was sealed against a former Immortal Emperor... a hegemon of the Era of Ancient Immortals.
Aside from those,
All his achievements were earned by his own hands.
Its master
Not only had the luck of sailing a leaking boat with wine, but also the courage to break the cauldrons and sink the boats.
Occasionally mischievous and often showing off,
But his wisdom was second to none.
In fact,
Most of the time, he was a calculating schemer.
Calculating against others,
Calculating against the world,
Even calculating against himself...
For such a being, there was no reason he couldn't pass the Heart Demon Tribulation.
The heart demon is oneself; it grows stronger as you do. That much is true.
But he is Xu Xian.
The Sword Bearer it had waited a million years for.
He can do it. He certainly can.
From worry to doubt to certainty—the change in mindset made the Little Book Spirit feel exceptionally pleasant...
Waiting for the flower to bloom,
As the gentle breeze arrives.
...
Suddenly,
Movement came from beneath the boiling magma pool. The five sword spirits were the first to be alert, five pairs of eyes flashing with sharp light.
“What is this?”
Wisps of black mist crawled up along the five-colored chains without leaving the magma pool. They eventually diffused and gathered together.
The black mist did not originate from the Sky Gate. Instead, it was born beneath Fanzhou, gathering here along with the Five Elements fortune.
The Little Book Spirit was shocked, its eyes turning solemn. “Not good.”
It stood up abruptly.
However, since the Sword Tower had not been summoned to merge with a sword, it could not manifest its true body.
It could only order the five sword spirits:
“Quick, wipe it out!”
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